There definitely is a Mega Disko ride in Coney Island, new in May 2010 according to the New York Times:

Coney Island in Brooklyn, where in just a few weeks he will present a new amusement park featuring 22 rides, including the Tickler, a family-oriented roller coaster; the whirly Mega Disk'o; and Air Race, a heart-gulping aerobatic experience.

However, I too can find no pictures of it but I have found this video of a Zamparelli designed Mega Disk'o http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MAtjsTovBS8Standing restrained riders undergo a rocking motion continuously and then the entire platform they are on twirls with circular motion.

The cast announcement today has shaken loose another sighting. From Facebook earlier today:

So glad the word is out. We met Josh and Brent on the Talgo Night Train to Paris in June when they were in the middle of racing and filming. Caroline and I will be watching on the 30th and cheering them on. Spoiler alert, when we met them there were four teams left!

I don't know if this is something we already knew or not, but it appears that the Beekman Boys are in the final four. They are getting one of the largest reactions on Twitter, so that will probably help ratings. The fact that the Facebook poster doesn't mention other teams may be bad news for the Beekman Boys though.

Also, I'm not sure we ever nailed down which trains were used in France, so this may help with that.

About the trains, I found this:

The Talgo Elipsos Hotel Train provides overnight train service between France and Spain and Spain and Switzerland and Spain and Italy. Routes and travel times are:

The Joan Miro--Talgo Elipsos Hotel Train--Barcelona to Paris makes more sense to me, than Madrid to Paris. Current departure is 21:05 from Barcelona and arrival in Paris at 09:02. Current ticket prices are Gran Class = $338 per person, First Class = $275 per person and Tourist Class = $192 per person in 4 person rooms.

The Francisco de Goya--Talgo Elipsos Hotel Train--Madrid to Paris. Train leaves Madrid at 18:15 and arrives in Paris at 08:27. Current fares are the same as the Barcelona to Paris fares.

I think train choice depends on just what time that production wanted teams to arrive in Paris. I need to look at driving time to the chateaus in the Loire Valley and the times teams were observed there....that might help in determining which train.

The Joan Miro--Talgo Elipsos Hotel Train--Barcelona to Paris makes more sense to me, than Madrid to Paris. Current departure is 21:05 from Barcelona and arrival in Paris at 09:02. Current ticket prices are Gran Class = $338 per person, First Class = $275 per person and Tourist Class = $192 per person in 4 person rooms.

The Francisco de Goya--Talgo Elipsos Hotel Train--Madrid to Paris. Train leaves Madrid at 18:15 and arrives in Paris at 08:27. Current fares are the same as the Barcelona to Paris fares.

I think train choice depends on just what time that production wanted teams to arrive in Paris. I need to look at driving time to the chateaus in the Loire Valley and the times teams were observed there....that might help in determining which train.

The use of Barcelona as the transfer point from plane to train also makes great sense to me. There were 7 flights from Palma de Mallorca the afternoon of June 14. The Ellipsos train schedule that makes sense to me leaves Barcelona-Eastacio de Franca 2043 and arrives Orleans 0716 (note - there is no need to go to Paris since you would just turn around and come back). The smart thing to do (remember AR1) is to get off in Orleans, which is a much shorter distance from Tours than Paris is. The earliest train from Orleans to Tours is 0740 arriving 0856.